LYNCH: HUSKIES WILL WEAR DOWN ’NOLES

Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch on Thursday gave the Orange Bowl an unexpected gift that jolted instant life into what had previously been perceived as a somewhat punchless matchup between the Huskies and Florida State.

“They’re fast, they’re physical,” Lynch said about the Seminoles’ defense in a story published Thursday afternoon by Sporting News, “but they haven’t seen anything like our offense.”

Those comments weren’t even the ones that set social media ablaze. The words that turned most Seminoles fans’ heads were the following: “We plan on wearing them down. In the fourth quarter, we plan to have them on their knees — and then just keep pounding away.

“They’re just like us. They’re human, too. If you cut them, they bleed.”

Lynch said all of that to the Sporting News’ Steve Greenberg before the Huskies left DeKalb, Ill., on Wednesday. After Northern Illinois’ practice Thursday, he smiled to reporters and acknowledged saying them. He and his teammates, however, “are not cocky at all,” he cautioned. “We’re confident.”

The Seminoles didn’t seem to take offense to the comments.

“They’re competitors like us,” Florida State outside linebacker Christian Jones said, smiling. “He has a lot of faith in his team, and we have a lot of faith in our team. People are always going to say something (like that), but it’s just the competitive nature coming out.”